As is known, one of the major hazards when operating an agricultural vehicle is the loss of longitudinal stability in the various and, often, difficult conditions in which the vehicle is operated.
Commonly, the longitudinal attitude of an unloaded, stationary agricultural vehicle having a substantially horizontal barycentric longitudinal axis is altered, and may even be compromised. An altered longitudinal attitude often results in the loss of longitudinal stability and tip-up of the vehicle, whenever any static and/or dynamic force is applied having a vertical component and a point of application some distance from a barycentric plane perpendicular to the barycentric longitudinal axis.
For example, the loss of longitudinal stability may occur when a very heavy projecting implement is connected to a lift member of the vehicle. In certain operating conditions the weight of the vehicle alone may not be sufficient to counterbalance the tip-up moment produced when the implement, normally resting on the ground, is lifted off the ground.
The same also applies, whether or not the implement is lifted, when the vehicle is operated over very rough or steep ground.
To safeguard against loss of longitudinal stability caused by a raised implement, agricultural vehicles are equipped with ballast, connected integrally in a fixed position to the end of the vehicle opposite the implement end, to produce a stabilizing moment to counterbalance the tip-up moment produced by lifting the implement.
Because the stabilizing moment produced by the ballast is constant and proportional to the weight of the ballast and its distance from the end of the vehicle, the effectiveness of the above known balancing system is seriously impaired by the obvious reasons of size, and that the ballast must project as little as possible from the end of the vehicle. The ballast must also not be so heavy as to unnecessarily overload the vehicle in normal operating conditions.